OK, hi. This is my first time writing a FMA fic, so please bear with me a little here.

I jsut wanna make a few things clear before I even get started, because I don't want my readers to start off my story confused.

First of all, this is a completely AU fic, but it still takes place in Amestris. Central is more like a modern day city though, all the places around it being outlying towns and such...You get what I mean.

Second, there will be an age change in most characters. Like some of out favorite military personnel. (Not telling who, though you can probably guess.)

Third, there will be no Homunculi, which also means no alchemy. People who look like them, yes. They will be the rival band, the names of the sins will be their stage names. (They won't come in until later though.)

And...Hmmm...I think that it for now. If anyone is still confused about anything, please tell me and I'll answer your questions the best I can.

.:DISCLAMER:. I do NOTown Fullmetal Alchemist in ANY way. *tries to hold it in but begins to sob*

ON TO THE STORY!

The rain fell in torrents from the sky, the inhabitants of Central's slums cursing the weather and their leaky roofs. For one man though, it couldn't be better conditions.

He stared at the fifth floor window he'd been watching for the past three weeks, finally having enough information on the people who lived there to pull off his best robbery so far this year.

The window that shielded the actual apartment from the rain belonged to the Elrics. Just your average low-class family. A man, a wife and two children. Nothing special, unless you counted the fact that they had the biggest cash stash the guy had come across this side of Central's slums. The oldest boy, a blond, was quite the talented singer/guitar player and he performed on street corners day after day in the city, just collecting. The parents never spent a cent of it!

The guy supposed that they were saving to get a better place. Or maybe to put the kid through a better school. He didn't know, nor did he care. The fact that they had the money would be their downfall. He was going to steal it and just so they couldn't get it back...He'd kill them all.

He slid from the shadows of the alley across the street from said building and made his way in, being sure to be quiet on the stairs all the way up to the fifth floor. He didn't want a single soul to know he was coming in.

He smirked as he reached the door he knew was the Elric's and brought out a pocket knife, just so he could jimmy the lock open.

He stuck the knife between the door and the wall, sliding it up and down to work the lock open, while the people inside slept soundly, not knowing their lives were about to end.

Hoenheim Elric cradled his wife as they slept, little Alphonse, their newest son, finally giving them some peace. He had a contented smile on his face, loving the weight of his wife in his arms even in sleep. He didn't dream but his subconscious brought pictures to his mind. Pictures of his family and all the things he had to be happy for in their mediocre life.

Trisha Elric slept with her face buried in her husband's shoulder as usual, wanting nothing more than to be close to the man she loved. Despite their way of life she loved her family. She always said she would rather a life with love and a family rather than a life with money and loneliness. She never doubted her own statements either. She truly thought she had everything she could ever ask for. A devoted husband, and two beautiful children.

The eldest son of the Elrics, Edward being the grand age of five, slept down the hall. Dreaming, unlike most little boys, of music notes. Wondrous sounding notes that played only for him. Music was his life, always had been it seemed and he was quite gifted at singing and playing guitar even in his young age.

All in all a happy family...with a horrible fate.

The nameless thief had finally gotten the lock to open, freezing as it popped when he got his victory. He waited to see if anyone would wake up and then continued on into the apartment.

The small, narrow hall that led into the sitting room was pitch black and the thief didn't see the table the was situated on the right wall. As he came to it his foot bumped it with enough force to send a vase crashing to the floor. He swore beneath his breath as he heard the springs of a mattress creak and a baby begin to cry a moment later.

He whipped out the gun he had had in the waist band of him dirty jeans just as a light turned on. He blinked to adjust his sight and the stared at the man standing on the other side of the sitting room, smirking as he realised the guy was still, a look of fear on his face.

In the bedroom meanwhile Trisha was holding the six month old Alphonse and trying to quiet him. She and Hoenheim had woken to the sound of the vase crashing to floor from the table in the front hall. He had gone from the room before she could caution him.

It didn't take long for the silence to be broken, but she didn't like what she heard. A gunshot, and the falling of a body. She rushed from the room still carrying Alphonse and went into the living room. What she saw made her scream, making her deaf to the scream of her eldest son, who had come out behind his mother when he heard her running.

The thief just laughed at the tree remaining people. He couldn't believe how stupid they were. To come out here when they had heard the shot. He aimed once more and fire at the brunette woman holding the baby. She fell to the ground, the wailing child falling from her arms at the young boy's feet.

"Ed...ward..." He heard her whisper. The thief looked to the horrified boy she was obviously speaking to. He was doing a pretty good imitation of a fish and this only made the man laugh more. "Pl...please take....take care of....your....brother...." Trisha finished, her voice fading with each word.

Ed could only watch his mother's eyes dim and her breathing stop, he wanted to scream and cry but his entire body seemed to have just frozen. He could do nothing, not even run. He could only bring his head up to watch as the man that had murdered his parents walked towards him.

The man didn't hesitate. He pointed the gun at the baby on the floor and fired, laughing as the blood spattered onto the older boy. He had forgotten about the money, lost in the ecstasy of his killing spree and didn't even hear the thundering footsteps of the police that the next door neighbors had called after hearing the first gunshot.

He put the gun to Ed's head, gave a maniacal smile and squeezed the trigger...

But his aim was knocked off when a cop fired a shot into his back from behind and pierced his heart. The bullet only hit Ed in the shoulder but the pain and realisation of what had become of his parents and baby brother still made him faint.

The last thing he could remember hearing were the footsteps of the cops.

* * *

Ed woke three days later in a hospital, only to be sedated again as his memories hit him. The nurses cried themselves after the boy was asleep again. For a child of such a young age to have seen his only family shot before his eyes...How was it fair?

Two weeks later Ed was transferred to Central's only orphanage. He withdrew into himself and stayed silent, no matter who tried to speak to him.

The only thing he had was his guitar. (The police had asked him if wanted anything from the apartment and he had said the guitar.) It was his only friend and would be his only friend for a very long time....

Ok, tell me what you think...Good?...Bad?

Please review.